Wolverines stay perfect in league, beat K'ville boys

Kelseyville's Jameson Stein (55) battles Willits' Cole Jessup for the rebound during North Central League I varsity boys' basketball action on Friday night in Kelseyville, where the Wolverines improved to 6-0 in the league standings with a 55-40 win. (Photo by Kristen Krohn)

KELSEYVILLE --The Willits Wolverines improved to a North Central League I-best 6-0 on Friday night with a 55-40 victory over the Kelseyville Knights in varsity boys' basketball action at Kelseyville.

Kelseyville (4-2 league, 9-9 overall) had the opportunity to pull into a first-place tie with the Wolverines, who were led by 15 points from Jon Montez and 14 from Cole Jessup.

"We knew were going to have to have our best effort of the year (to beat them)," Kelseyville coach Scott Conrad said. "We didn't quite have that but I thought out kids did a good job. They (Wolverines) were just better."

Trailing 30-16 at halftime, the Knights put a run together in the third quarter to get as close as seven points before the Wolverines pushed their lead back into double digits to stay.

"They answered and did what they do best," Conrad said.

Kelseyville had won four straight league games entering play, three more than it won all of last season.

"We were prepared and we came out with a relaxed focus," Conrad said of his young squad, which showed no signs of panic against the senior-dominated Wolverines. "I was really pleased."

Capitalizing on a handful of Kelseyville turnovers, the Wolverines made the Knights pay almost every time, according to Conrad.

"You make a mistake on offense, they score," Conrad said. "That's what good teams do. Willits is good ... man are they good."

Victor Fernandez led the Knights with 13 points, Kyle Ellis added nine and Robert McLean had seven.

In other varsity boys' action Friday:

Clear Lake 65, Fort Bragg 61 (OT)

At Fort Bragg, the Fort Bragg Timber-wolves used a 22-12 fourth quarter to force overtime before the Clear Lake Cardinals pulled out a victory on the Mendocino County coast.

"They may be undersized, they may be young, but they played their rear ends off," Clear Lake coach Scott De Leon said of the Timberwolves, who fell to 1-5 in league play. "The crowd was going crazy and the team was feeding off of that."

Clear Lake (3-3, 12-6) had a chance to win the game in the final seconds of regulation but a shot from down low rolled in and out at the buzzer, forcing the overtime period.

"That's kind of the way our night went," De Leon said. "We had a lot of good looks in the paint that rolled in and out."

Danny Partida (14 points) and Gabe Oilar-Strong (eight points) each scored four points in overtime as the Cardinals held on for the victory.

"Gabe had another strong game ... he worked his butt off," De Leon said.

Brandon Helms also had 14 points for the Cardinals and David Mansell finished with 13.

Tomales 67, Upper Lake 56

At Tomales, Greg Gagnon and Shahid Hussain each had double-doubles for Upper Lake in a losing cause against the Tomales Braves in NCL II action.

Gagnon finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Hussain had 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals as the Cougars fell to 2-4 in league play and 4-13 overall. Stevie Diaz also had 16 points for Upper Lake.

"Those three guys all played good basketball," Upper Lake coach Chris Cisneros said. "I thought we played good basketball. I thought we passed the ball pretty well."

The difference in the game turned out to be a 22-10 third quarter by the Braves, who boosted their lead to 55-39 entering the final period.

Varsity girls

Middletown 52, Lower Lake 33

At Middletown, sophomore center Ashlyn Welton got the better of her Lower Lake counterpart, senior Zobee Miller, and the Middletown Mustangs beat the Trojans in NCL I action.

Welton finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and five blocks while also holding Miller, Lower Lake's top scorer on the season, to just seven points.

"That sophomore just ate us up," Lower Lake coach Jim Salmina said of Welton. "Zobee just didn't have a very good night."

Welton had plenty of help from her teammates as Middletown improved to 4-2 in league play and 13-5 overall. Nicole Corsetti added six points and a team-best 13 rebounds while Ashley Hart had seven points.

Middletown took control of the game with a 21-8 second quarter.

"We ran the floor really well in that second quarter," Middletown coach Anthony Bazzano said. "Things were just clicking offensively for us in that quarter."

Middletown's defense limited Lower Lake (3-3, 6-9) to a high of 10 points in the first quarter.

At Tomales, the Upper Lake Cougars squared their NCL II record at 3-3 and improved to 10-8 on the season with a lopsided win over the Tomales Braves.

"Our goal is to get to 15 wins," Upper Lake coach Mike Smith. "We hit double digits tonight, which is nothing to sneeze at given where this program has been the last few seasons."

JoJo Augustine propelled the Cougars to win No. 10 with a team-leading 12 points and five blocks. She also tied teammates Skylar Orozco and LaShaye Taylor for the team lead in rebounds with eight. Taylor added 10 points, Orozco had nine and Natalie Karlsson eight.

Upper Lake had a 13-2 lead after one quarter and increased that margin to 29-6 by halftime.

"We get in the mindset that we're going to take care of business and that's what they do ... when they're confident," Smith said. "JoJo really had a nice game. She had 10 of her points in the first half."

Fort Bragg 48, Clear Lake 37

At Lakeport, the Fort Bragg Timberwolves used a big first half to beat the Clear Lake Cardinals and claim their first league win of the season.

Fort Bragg (1-5) took a 34-21 lead into halftime.

"We came out flat and dug ourselves a hole and couldn't get out of it," Clear Lake coach Kory Reynolds said. "Our defense wasn't very good, but Fort Bragg came ready to play and they outplayed us tonight."